Mary D'Souza Sequeira (born 18 July 1931) is an Indian female Olympian who competed internationally in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

. She competed in the women's 100 and 200 metres at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. D'Souza won a bronze medal in the 200 metres and a silver medal in the relay at the

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games ( hi, 1951 एशियाई खेल; Marathi: १९५१ आशियाई खेळ), officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Game ...

with Pat Mendonca (her cousin), Banoo Gulzar and

Roshan Mistry Roshan Mistry is an Indian athlete. She won silver medals in the relay and individual 100 metres in the 1951 Asian Games. She belonged to a Parsi family from Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) ...

. D'Souza won a gold medal in the 1954 Asian Games in Manila in the relay, with

Stephie D'Souza Stephanie "Stephie" D'Souza, ''nee'' Sequeira (26 December 1936 – 11 September 1998) was an Indian sportsperson who represented India in athletics and women's hockey. Early life Stephanie "Stephie" D Souza, inheritably Sequeira, was bor ...

, Violet Peters and

Christine Brown Christine Brown (born September 1938) is an Indian track-and-field athlete. She won a gold medal in 4×100m relay (with Stephie d'Souza, Violet Peters and Mary d'Souza) and bronze in the 100 metres in the 1954 Asian Games. This was the first ...

in a time of 49.5 seconds. She held the Asian records in 100 and 200 meters in 1956. She is the first Indian double international. She played field hockey for India in 1953 in Folkestone, England, in 1956 in Australia, in the IWFHA International Tournament and in test matches vs Japan and Ceylon.

Career

In 1951, D'Souza competed in the First Asian Games in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, winning a silver medal in the 4x100 meter relay and a bronze in the 200 meters. First Indian Female Team Asian Games. In the

Second Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in 1954 she won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay. 1954 Asian Games medal table First Indian Female Gold Medal Asian Games. She set Indian national records in track and field from 1951 to 1957 100 meters, 200 meters and 80m hurdles. She was the Asian record holder with 12.3 seconds over 100 meters and 12.5 seconds over 200 meters. She was the first female track and field contingent to go to the Olympics from India in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. She competed in the 100m and 200m. She was a field hockey player with India's first women's field hockey team, in the First IFWHA International Women's Field Hockey World Tournament in Folkestone, UK, 1953 In 1956 she represented India at the Australian International Women's Field Hockey Tournament. She was the top scorer for India in goals in the tournament. She played India vs Ceylon matches, as right winger assisted in both goals She was with the Indian team that played in the Prime Ministers Defense Fund Field Hockey Tour in 1961. She also took part in the India vs Ceylon (Sri Lanka) field hockey tour in India and the India vs Japan field hockey test matches touring India in 1964 She was an Indian Railways sports officer who coached and recruited sportspeople for Indian Railways teams and conducted Inter Railway Tournaments. She was also a district commissioners with the Girl Guides(Scouts). She earned the

Dhyan Chand Award The Major Dhyan Chand Award, officially known as Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, is the lifetime achievement sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan ...

in 2013 from the Government of India.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Souza Sequeira, Mary 1931 births Living people Indian female field hockey players Indian female sprinters 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Sportswomen from Goa Recipients of the Dhyan Chand Award Field hockey players from Goa Athletes from Goa Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games Medalists at the 1954 Asian Games